NBA’s Top ‘Stop And Watch’ Players

DENVER, CO - FEBRUARY 9: Kevin Durant #35 of the Oklahoma City Thunder stands on the court during a game against the Denver Nuggets on February 9, 2015 at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Bart Young/NBAE via Getty Images)

By Ryan Mayer

In the past three weeks we’ve seen Steph Curry go for 51, Kevin Durant have his 43rd career 40 point game and Klay Thompson pour in 37 in one quarter. These kinds of performances are what we like to call “Stop and Watch games.” As in stop what you’re doing right now and get to a television immediately. This list is always changing but as of right now here are the guys who make us drop everything and run to the nearest TV. (Hint: two guys were mentioned already)

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK- FEBRUARY 6: Anthony Davis #23 of the New Orleans Pelicans goes up for a dunk against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the game on February 6, 2015 at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Photo by Layne Murdoch/NBAE via Getty Images)

5) Anthony Davis PF New Orleans Pelicans: Though he’s out with an injury right now, “The Brow” has made another quantum leap in his development this season. With Davis, it’s not just about what he can do to light up the scoreboard (though he does have 11 30+ point games this season), but his ability to swat shots 7 rows into the stands consistently lands him on this list.

DENVER, CO - FEBRUARY 9: Russell Westbrook #0 of the Oklahoma City Thunder shoots against the Denver Nuggets on February 9, 2015 at Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado.(Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)

4) Russell Westbrook PG Oklahoma City Thunder: Russell is a freak athlete who tries to dunk on the entire world everytime he drives the lane. That combined with sky high confidence makes him one of the NBA’s best show stoppers when he gets going.

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - FEBRUARY 8: Kevin Durant #35 of the Oklahoma City Thunder looks on during the game against the Los Angeles Clippers at Chesapeake Energy Arena on February 8, 2015 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The Thunder defeated the Clippers 131-108.(Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

3) Kevin Durant SF Oklahoma City Thunder: Back-to-back Thunder teammates? Yep. Durant showed last night why he’s a stop and watch guy. When he’s feeling it, there is not one person in the league that can stop him from filling it up.

2) LeBron James SF Cleveland Cavaliers: Let’s just let this clip do the talking shall we?

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PHILADELPHIA, PA - FEBRUARY 9: Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors gets direction from Head Coach Steve Kerr against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center on February 9, 2015 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)

1) Steph Curry PG Golden State Warriors: The reason Curry is number one is because all it takes is a text message with his last name to make me scramble to find the nearest viewing device to see what he’s doing. The King of the Heat Check routinely makes even his head coach Steve Kerr, one of the best shooters in league history, shake his head.